The present invention relates to container-like stacking trays which may be easily carried from place to place and in which easy access to underlying trays is available. It relates more particularly to trays capable of use singly in packaging small items for sale, and thereafter useful stacked together for convenient storage and handling of the sold items.
In the prior art, trays have commonly been so constructed to permit stacking when not in use. Stacking features also have been incorporated in storage trays, in which access to the interior of the tray is either from the top of the tray or through openings in the tray sides or ends. Top access is often prohibitively inconvenient; to gain an access to a tray, all overlying trays must be separated from and removed from above that tray. Side or end openings may be used only for trays which generally are kept in a fixed place since the material stored inside may fall out as the trays are moved.
Various constructions have been utilized to provide for stacking: ribs which fit into grooves, lugs which engage bores, and guides in the upper side of the tray which receive between them the sides of an overlying tray, as well as other more complex constructions.